Julius shouldn't have come tonight.
Even as he stood beside his fiancée, Helen, he was barely present.
His mind was somewhere else.
It was on Harrison.
Julius could feel those dark eyes following him from across the room.
His body was reacting in a way it shouldn't—as if it recognized the Enigma.
"You're quiet," Helen said softly beside him.
"I'm fine," Julius replied automatically.
It was a lie.
He could feel Harrison's presence getting closer.
Watching.
Waiting.
Julius turned his head before he could stop myself.
And there Harrison was.
He wasn't across the room anymore.
He was much closer.
It was as if boundaries and distance meant nothing to the man.
Julius's pulse spiked with a mix of fear and something he couldn't name.
"Excuse me," Julius muttered, stepping away from the table.
He needed air.
He needed to feel like he was in control again.
He moved quickly down the hallway, away from the noise and the crowd.
Julius thought he was escaping.
Instead, he walked straight into a trap.
The moment he turned the corner, a hand grabbed his arm.
The grip was hard and impossible to break.
Before Julius could even breathe, he was pulled into a dark corner of the corridor.
His back hit the wall with a soft thud.
"Let—"
The words died in his throat.
It was Harrison.
It was always him.
"Running away?" Harrison asked, his voice low and dangerous.
"I'm not running," Julius snapped, trying to push against Harrison's chest.
Harrison didn't move an inch.
Julius's strength meant nothing against him.
"You shouldn't be here," Julius whispered.
"And yet," Harrison murmured, stepping even closer, "you came anyway."
Julius's chest tightened.
"This is my world, Harrison. Not yours."
There was a long silence.
Then, Harrison's hand lifted slowly.
He stopped his fingers just at Julius's neck.
Right on that sensitive spot.
Julius froze instantly.
"Then why," Harrison said quietly, "do you react like this when I'm near?"
Julius's breath came in sharp hitches.
"I don't," he lied.
Harrison's fingers brushed against his skin.
It was a light touch, but it felt like fire.
A sudden wave of heat rushed through Julius.
It was deep, instinctive, and terrifying.
Julius grabbed Harrison's wrist to stop him.
"Stop."
His voice was shaking.
Harrison saw it. He knew.
His eyes darkened with satisfaction.
"You feel it," Harrison said.
Julius shook his head, trying to fight the feeling.
"No."
But even as he denied it, Julius's grip on the wrist tightened.
He was afraid to let go.
Harrison's other hand moved to Julius's waist, firm and possessive.
He pulled Julius flush against him.
"No more lies," Harrison murmured.
"Let me go," Julius said, but his voice was weak now.
"You're about to marry someone else," Harrison reminded him.
The words felt like a physical blow.
"That has nothing to do with you," Julius gasped.
"Everything about you belongs to me now."
Julius's breath caught in his throat.
Harrison leaned in until his lips were just an inch from Julius's neck.
He was dangerously close.
"If I wanted to mark you right here," Harrison whispered, "no one could stop me."
Julius's heart slammed against his ribs like a trapped animal.
"Then don't," he said quickly.
Harrison let out a low, dark chuckle.
"Still pretending you don't want it."
Julius forced himself to push back, finally creating a small space.
"I don't belong to you."
The silence that followed was heavy and cold.
Harrison's expression changed, becoming something sharper.
"You will."
The way he said it sent a chill down Julius's spine.
It wasn't a threat. It was a fact.
Footsteps echoed from the end of the hall.
Someone was coming.
Julius stepped back immediately, his heart still racing.
"You should leave," Julius said.
But as he turned to walk away, he wasn't sure who he was talking to.
Harrison didn't chase him.
He didn't have to.
Julius could feel those eyes on his back with every step he took.
It felt like he hadn't escaped at all.
It felt like he never would.